SOCO Schedules FPSO Capacity Test for June (Vietnam)

SOCO has announced that following the agreement of the owner and operator of the Floating Production Storage and Operating (“FPSO”) vessel, and approval from the relevant Vietnamese authorities, the Hoang Long Joint Operating Company (“HLJOC”) has completed the first phase of a multi-stage test of the TGT FPSO oil production handling capacity beyond the 55,000 barrels of oil per day (“bopd”) contractual minimum quantity.

The first phase of the capacity test, in which the FPSO successfully processed sustained production of over 60,000 bopd, confirmed the company’s expectations based on the detailed pre-test simulations, that only minor modifications to the low pressure separator system would be required. These will now be made ahead of the next phase of the testing programme when production volumes of over 60,000 bopd will be processed.

This next phase of the FPSO capacity test is scheduled to commence in June 2013 to determine the upper oil production limits of the TGT FPSO.

Ed Story, President and Chief Executive Officer of SOCO, commented:

“The results of the first phase of the FPSO capacity test fully support our belief that with only minor modifications the FPSO should comfortably be able to handle volumes of around 70,000 bopd. This gives us considerable confidence that the TGT Field production levels can be maintained at a rate of ca. 55,000 bopd.”